


How long has it been?

by Is_anyone_there0



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 05:40:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11411385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Is_anyone_there0/pseuds/Is_anyone_there0
Summary: It's been six years since the three Garrison Cadets went missing and seven since The Kerberos Crew. Ever wonder how the families are taking it? Or if anyone will come home? If they do come home how would everyone react?I'm really not that good at summaries.





	1. Seven Year Memorial

**Author's Note:**

> If you read this tell me if I should continue this please.

“-and now we head to the field were reporter Monica Bishops is live at the Garrison Valley Memorial,”  
“Monica what’s going on down there?”  
A reporter took the screen with a microphone in hand. Crowds are gathered behind her all with flowers and candles, snacks, and toys around altars for six different people. Dusk made the mood more solemn than need be.  
“Yes I’m here at the Garrison Valley Memorial that was set up nearly seven years ago to honor the missing and presumably deceased crew of the Kerberos mission: Sam Holt, and son Matt Holt, and Takashi Shirogane. A year after the tragic accident the cadets housing which you can see behind me was on lockdown when a small meteor failed to show up on radar and hit. During the lockdown three cadets: Lance McClain, Hunk Garret, and Pidge Gunderson later revealed to be Katie Holt, the daughter and sister of the Holts on the Kerberos mission, all went missing. The three were added to the memorial three weeks after their disappearances.  
“As you can see many have come to mourn their family and friends as over half a decade passes for both groups. As I was placing an offering on the altars earlier I bumped into one of the missing cadet’s mother Carina McClain, who has agreed to give a short interview. Mrs. McClain how do you feel the Garrison has handled either situation?”  
A average Cuban came into view with her five children flocking close as Monica gave questions and was ready for responses. A boy no older than ten listen to his mother speak rapidly before turning to the field reporter.  
“Uh, she wants me to be her translator,”  
“That’s perfectly fine. Go ahead, whenever you’re ready,”  
“Mama, are you sure you want me to say that?” the woman nodded, the boy gave an unsure look before turning away from his mother and to the microphone.  
“She said, ‘They handled it like shit, they’ve done no real effort to try and find Lance or anyone else. All those,’” he looked to his mother again before turning back all while taking a breath, “‘ fucking bastards have done is put up this memorial and tried to give our families settlement money,’”  
“How do you think you could handle it better?” once again the women went out on a foreign rant before her son answered again.  
“‘I would actually put in the time and effort to get results instead of sitting on my fat ass and risk losing a job that elephants are already doing in other countries.’”  
“I-I think that’s all we need to hear from the McClains-”  
“I’m sorry but could I say something not from my Mama?”  
“Sure,”  
“I believe my brother and his friends are still out there and alive and doing great things. All my brother wanted was to go to space and see the stars but knowing him he’s up there and doing more than that. I know he’s going to come home with everyone else and they’ll have amazing stories about all the aliens and planets we haven’t met yet. He’ll also try to bring some alien home, but not before he’s done up there. He’s coming home, they’ll all come home.”  
“That’s very sweet, what was your name again?”  
“Julian,”  
“With that touching statement from young Julian I return it to Penny and James back in the studio. Once again I’m Monica Bishop with channel seventeen news,” The T.V. suddenly went black in a small living room filled with old couches and worn carpet. Two children sharing a seat turn around to see a passive looking sister.  
“Why’d you turn that off Sherry? We were watching that!”  
“They only show you want they want you to see, and they’re sure as hell not gonna show anything about how to get Hunk home. I don’t even know why you bother to watch that shit.”  
“At least they talk about him! You try to never bring Hunk up! All you do is pretend like he isn’t our brother, you act like he never existed! They’re doing more than you!”  
“Shut the hell up, you don’t know what you’re talking about,”  
“Make me!” Sherry started to move closer to her sister.  
“Sherry, it’s a bad time of year for all of us. Can’t you just leave her alone? Besides, I think your ride is here,” Outside a window a car flashed it’s headlights and honked as a que for the oldest to leave.  
Just down the street in once a lively house, there sat Colleen Holt. She sat there with a dog by her side but she gave it no attention as the T.V. glowed against her skin reminding her that her family is gone, that she lost them all in a span of two years, that she might never see them again. But oh how she wanted to. What she wouldn’t give to see Katie in her dress again, to see her long flowing hair, to see Matt tease her over a guy and then to protect her and call her Pidge most of the time because he knew it bothered her but she continued just to spite her. And her husband, oh she would never find someone like Sam anywhere else, all she asked for was to see him playing with their kids in the backyard, telling space stories that he made up and watching all of them glow and laugh and just be there with her so that she wasn’t alone. But she was always alone besides a dog.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a tad longer. Thanks for encouraging me to update and enjoy.

Sirens were blaring in the castle with red warning lights ghosting over the walls and silhouettes of the paladins. Running past doors and each other having no clue what in their good christian castle was going on and why they were in full armor. The first one to arrive in the helm was Keith closely followed by Shiro who nearly yelled the question of “What’s going on?!” while Keith starred anticipating her response. Before she could answer Hunk, Pidge, and Lance came crashing through wielding their bayards like Charlie’s Angels.   
“Princess, what’s happening?” Lance spoke from his position in the middle and over the siren’s calls. Coran shuffled up from the ground where no one had a visual of him and the wailing stopped and the lights went back to their original hues.   
“Well, I think we found something you all might find interesting. I was working on some maintenance when I caught this feed-” the orange haired man spoke but was cut off.  
“Hey guys,” Keith waited until he knew they were looking at him, “doesn’t this look familiar?” he gazed at the stars, the ones he felt he’s seen before.   
“Well now that I’m really looking, it does give a sense of deja vu. Where have I seen this before?” Lance stood next to him.   
“Coran, what were you saying about a feed?” Shiro said joining Lance and Keith.  
“We think it’s something you should all see,” Allura chimed as the screen lit up with a reporter with the headline “Over half a decade passes for the Kerberos crew and missing cadets”.  
Lance turned at the screen glaring on his face, “That’s- that’s the Garrison.” he spoke over the reporter.  
“Coran, how did you find this?” Pidge asked confused but excitedly  
“I don’t know really, I was working down under there and bumped my head and the next thing I knew They were talking about ‘Takashi Shirogane’ and how he and some others went missing then brought up ‘Lance McClain, Hunk Garret, and Pidge Gunderson’.”  
“How is that reaching all the out here? We’re no where near Earth!” she retorted.  
“Actually Pidge, I think we’re closer than you think,”  
“What makes you think that, Hunk?”  
“The fact that Kerberos is like, right there,” they all looked to Pluto’s moon and the stars around them now recognizing the constellations.  
“Hey, how long do you think we’ve been gone for?” Lance inquired when he heard his mother’s rapid spanish and had a young boy translate for her. “Julian?” he thought, “And Maya, and Lana, and Clara, Christina, Gizelle, but not Dad,”  
“This is uncharted territory, no one has ever been out this far,”  
“Allura, were not that far from Earth. This isn’t uncharted territory, this is home,”  
“So we’re near your planet? How had Zarkon not made it this far?”  
“He was able to take me and my crew prisoner from that moon there, he’s been here before but he hasn’t taken anything. He might not’ve realized that there was some life here.”  
“Well he’s gone now, isn’t he?”   
“Yeah, he is and we some how made it home,”   
They all stood in wonder, disbelief, happiness, and nervousness at the sight and the feeling of the Milky Way, just at the arm of Sagittarius, at the small green and blue orb. The closer they got the more they could make out clouds and countries before spotting the Grand Canyon.  
“If I can get coordinates could we land?”   
“If you can get them, I suppose. But there’s no guarantee that you could pick an exact location so I wouldn’t get your hopes up Pidge,”  
“Found it,”  
“Found ‘where?’”  
“The Galaxy Garrison in Silver City, New Mexico. Boys, let’s go home,”

 

\-----

 

“For those of you just tuning in, a few nights ago marked the seventh anniversary of the Kerberos Crew and the sixth for the missing cadets. I’m once again standing outside of the Galaxy Garrison after a large crash happened only hours ago. What appears to be a castle of some sorts fell from the sky and nothing has made a move. The military has made a barricade and refuses to let anyone get any closer that we currently are. No one can tell where the castle came from other than knowing it’s not from Earth. We have seen many Garrison leaders come and go from the site. We haven’t been given any details but I’ll be sure to let you know once we get word of anything. I’m Monica Bishops with channel seventeen news, let’s go back to Penny and James back in the studio,” the feed cut and left Monica to head back to the air conditioned news van to wait for nothing to happen.  
“How many times am I going to get stuck reporting from the fucking desert? I swear anytime they someone out here it’s always me! And why is it me? Because Penny and James are too fucking good to get a little dirt on their shoes.”  
“I get stuck out here too, it’s not like you’re alone,”  
“Yes but you just do camera and sound and you’re not here every time. I am,”   
“Maybe they send you out here because they think you’re that good? I mean you can report in the heat and rain and you always look great on camera. Maybe Penny and James can handle that, and that would only make you stronger than them. More resilient. And that would make you better, right?”  
“Um, thanks for that but you’re just my camera and sound guy. You don’t have to act like a Buddha or Gandhi or whatever,”   
“Right-” the ground started to shake and didn’t stop for a few minutes only then they heard lion roars? In the desert?   
“What the hell was that?!” the cameraman looked in the rearview mirror to see five robotic lions sitting at attention as if waiting for a command.   
“I think it was the robot lions,”   
“What the hell are you talking abou-” she stepped out of the van and turned around to be met with a face full of wind and dust before noticing the indeed robot lions, “Start the camera, START THE CAMERA!” she positioned herself, “Sorry to interrupt, but the has been movement at the Garrison. Just moments ago five robotic lions appeared causing a massive and short quake before letting out a roar. We’re not sure where they came from but they seem to be guarding the castle. The militants seem surprised at this and are scrambling around to stations incase the lions try anything,” the black lion started to lean her head down with the others following in example, “The lions have moved in a bowing position as you can see behind me and it seems are opening their mouths? I’m not sure what is going on but this is historic,” out of each lion climbed a figure with armor matching their lion. Once they all came out the lions went to their original stance and the humanoid creatures went to greet the front gates of the castle. There outsteeped two people: one a woman with stark white hair and donned a gown while the other was a ginger man who stood behind and to the side of her like the advisor he was.   
“It seems the lion masters are greeting what I can only assume is alien royalty in a grand display. As far as I can tell they seem to be marching towards the barricade, probably to greet them and offer peace. They haven’t done anything noteworthy of threats yet but we’ll have to wait to see what their motives are.”

 

\-----

 

“Allura do we have to do this? Why couldn’t we just come out and saw who we are?”  
“Lance, I already told you. They need to take us seriously and if they knew who you were they would run you through tests like they tried to do with Shiro!”  
“Can we take our helmets off?”  
“NO!”  
“Does this make us alien diplomats?”  
“I guess,”  
“Okay, I’ll stop complaining then,” they approached the barricade and stopped.   
“We wish to speak with your highest ranking officer.” The black paladin said.   
“Who are you? Answer me!” a soldier said.   
“We come in peace. We mean no harm,”  
“Where did you come from?”  
“Ugh, okay dude. What’s your name?”  
“Uh, Murphy?”  
“Okay Murphy. Here’s what you’re going to do: Go get let’s say, Iverson and bring him here. Or better yet bring us to him. If he’s not out here then he’s in his office which is room two-o-four if I remember. If you don’t get us to him or him to us then we will force ourselves through which would cause a hell of a lot of trouble. So, Iverson?”  
“Y-ye-yes Sir!” Murphy moved away.   
“Damn Shiro what was that?”  
“I call it encouragement, it got Keith to do a ton of stuff when he was younger,”  
“Duly noted,” Lance nodded.  
“So you threaten?”  
“It worked didn’t it, Pidge?”  
“You know, it must seem weird to these guys that a castle come out of nowhere, and so did our lions, and now seven people parade up here, presumably aliens, and are speaking English,”  
“You’re right, it is. We’ve never had other worldly visitors before,”  
“Well only those two are aliens,”  
“What do you mean by that?”  
“The other five of us are from Earth. At one time we were all cadets here.”   
“No way, I’m calling your bluff,”   
“You call it, I raise it. Not only were we cadets, us three” Pidge gestured to herself, Hunk, and Lance who waved, “we some of the worst in the simulator. Red there was kicked out of being to angry and emo and back in black was one of the best on record,”  
“Yeah, no way. If this is so true then what are your names?”  
“Polshki! What are you doing talking to them! You don’t fraternize with the enemy!”  
“Uh, yes sir, Commander Iverson, sir!”  
“Woah, Commander Iverson? The titles new. Congrats on the promotion!”  
“Let them in,”  
“Sir!” the group followed Iverson back into tents being guarded and mostly empty. Once all in the formed a circle and stood waiting for instructions from the princess.  
“Who are you?” Iverson begged.  
“I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. This is my Advisor Coran, and these are the Paladins of Voltron,”  
“What the hell is a Voltron?”  
“It’s a weapon of mass destruction used to fight the opposing forces of the universe,” the black paladin spoke.   
“And where is it?”  
“It’s the lions,” the green one said.  
“Pardon?”  
“The lions form together to create Voltron, duh,” the blue one said.  
“Why do I know your voices?”  
“Have you not noticed how we knew your name?”  
“Just who the hell are you really?”  
“Princess?”  
“Go ahead, if you must,” they all took of their helmets and held them under their arms. Iversons eyes went wide in disbelief at what he saw. The three missing cadets and the pilot of the Kerberos mission along with a Garrison drop out.   
“How the hell-? Who are-? When did-? What?!”  
“Awe he’s happy to see us,” Lance teased.  
“How the hell are you all alive? Where the hell did you all go?”  
“Voltron, dude,” Pidge said with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I update this more?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for so long before and update, School just started and I'm ready to die  
> Comment and enjoy!

“The seven mysterious beings have made way into the tents led by Commander Iverson. Within there have been no signs of movements and guards seem to have relaxed a bit. Still there is a new air to the situation. The colored lions refuse to move but show no hostility, so much so that they are letting officials gain a closer inspection as such they have concluded and firmly believe that they are beings with a mind and spirit of their own. It’s been ten hours since the castle came crashing down and all reports are non hostile. Once again I’m Monica Bishops live from the Garrison.”   
“I wonder what’s going on in there,”  
“Honestly who knows? But whatever it is I hope it makes a better story because right now my ratings are at an all time high,”  
“Well you’re doing great, not letting fear get to you,”  
“Who said I was afraid?”  
“That nervous hand twitch you’ve got going. Don’t worry it’s not in any shots,”  
“You could tell it was nervous?”  
“Well yeah, when I was younger I wanted to do psychoanalysis on people so I read a lot of books and learned all the signs. I would say I’m good enough to tell if the Zodiac Killer was lying to me and he was cryptid as all get out,”  
“The Zodiac Killer?”  
“Yeah he was this guy in the nineteen-seventies who- Iversons moving,” The Commander slid out of the tent with confusion and a smirk. He walked away from team Voltron and back to the main building while a cadet entered carrying drinks.  
“What the hell is going on in there,”

 

\-------

 

“So you mean to tell me that blue flying lion is the one out there and McClain was flying it? And that you three were on the roof when Shirogane crashed and went to investigate then decided to rescue him by teaming up with Kogane and hiding out in the desert? Then you found the robot and flew it to space to meet these two and fight a galactic war that never reached Earth?”  
“Yeah, that’s the jist of it,”  
“We thought you went missing and died somewhere in that mess! No one even knew Kogane was there! And how do you three learn to fly and command FLYING ROBOT ALIEN LIONS!”  
“We all had to bond with them after the lions choose us. We didn’t pick anything to happen but it all worked out.”  
“If it all worked out then where’s the rest of your crew Shirogane?”  
“In cyro-pods, they had it as rough as I did out there and then joined a resistance we didn’t find until late in the game,”  
“What the hell-”  
“A human freezer. It heals all wounds and damage while you’re basically frozen,”  
“That’s a lacking explanation Gunderson,”  
“It’s Holt and you know it, might as well use it,” she retorted,  
“Aye Pidge-podge, play nice. The pods put you in a trance like state rendering you essentially frozen. You’d be in there for a variation of vargas, doboshes, ticks, and what not depending on severity. Then once you’re out of there you have to readjust to air and warmth again otherwise you’ll become terribly stiff, sore, and probably need to go back in.”   
“That’s some explanation McClain,”  
“I’m a man of many words, Commander,”  
“I remember, don’t need to remind me,” he took a moment for the air to rest before confronting a seven year old problem, “So the Kerberos crew is all alive and well?”  
“Sir,” Hunk replied,  
“And the missing cadets resurfaced,”  
“Yes sir,” Shiro answered him,  
“The only problem now is how to introduce this news to the media, god knows they're out there now waiting for some type of movement,”  
“Excuse us but what exactly are the ‘media?’” Allura spoke.  
“And there’s them to deal with too,” lance mumbled.   
“The media is what we call the people who give us news and information from around the country and world, that feed you picked up on the castle was a news report about us. Apparently we’ve been gone for quite some time,”  
“So the media wants to know about us, Keith?”  
“They want to know what’s going on, the Garrison, if this will be like Shiro’s returning, will want to run some tests on you. Possible dissection, CAT scans, physicals, and all that sort,”  
“And will they?” Coran spoke to Iverson,  
“That’s not something I directly control, but after this time talking with you I can assume you hold no threat to us or any others besides your robot lions-”  
“Voltron,”  
“Yes, sorry Gunder- Holt, besides Voltron. I can’t promise others won’t investigate you but if you hold up in your ship-”  
“Castle,”  
“Thank you Holt,” he wasn’t thanking her, “If you stay in your castle and Voltron doesn’t attack or move or anything we shouldn’t really have a problem,”  
“Aliens come to Earth and instead of probing them we lock them up, what is this a horror movie?”  
“Do I get to be the one to save Allura?”  
“Allura can defend herself Lance, and wouldn’t you much rather save me?”  
“The couple always gets split up in the movies Keith god, it’s like you’ve never seen one!”  
“Not really no,”  
“We are going to fix that,” shock and stern laced his voice, “Hey commander, are we going to get to see our families? They should know we’re alive, right?”  
“One all the dust settles yes, that’s a possibility. But we can’t promise anything, and with that I do have other work to do on top of this unforeseen event. I’ll leave you to converse but ask you to stay in this tent, I don’t need word getting out of you actually being alive and here yet. Your families would think we hid you from them and that wouldn’t go down well. Ask Polshki if you need anything, he’ll be right outside,” he lifted a tent flap and was hit with sun and dust. Polshki came in the same with an assortment to drinks ranging from water bottles to sodas. All the pilots took one leaving the Alteans weary.  
“Guys they’re fine to drink. Come on we had to eat your food goo and alien food, now it’s your turn, Princess,”  
“If you insist Shiro,”she took a red can from the cadet and Coran took the same, she looked to shiro who opened his with a snap. They both tried to mimic but in the end handed them to the others. Once they were able to drink, boy did they. They lit up at the flavor and the bubbles.  
“It’s like they’ve never had caffeine before!”   
“They probably haven’t Lance,”   
“What’s ‘caffeine?’”  
“It’s a drug in a lot of drinks that gives you bursts of energy. It’s addictive and holy hell am I happy to have it back!” Pidge shot her armor matching can back,  
“So you guys were really part of the Garrison, and you’re both aliens?”  
“Yes Polshki. Did you not hear our entire explanation?”  
“Just trying to understand Sir,”  
“That would be Ma'am Polshki,”  
“Sorry ma’am, just trying to understand it all,”  
“Relax dude, I don’t care what you call me I just like to scary easy targets,” she laughed   
“Princess, you should slow down otherwise you’ll get sick,”  
“I’m fine Coran, but I will need another in a moment. This is delightful!”  
“Wait, you’re really a princess? That wasn’t just like a nickname or mockery?”  
“I’m Princess Allura of New Planet Altea,”  
“She should be the queen but refuses the crown,” Hunk added,   
“Why?”  
“On my old world, there was no rise to a more powerful position such as queen or king until you either a prince or princess was bonded through quintessence with another, I choose to live by that and honor my old world,”  
“Whats-”  
“It’s basically your soul,”  
“Right, I’ll be outside if you need anything. Excuse me,”  
“He seems nice,”  
“Pidge you scared him,”  
“He was an easy target Shiro, doesn’t mean he’s not nice,”

 

\-----

 

“Maya, wake up,”  
“Julian, go to bed, I’m hungry,” he started to shake her,  
“Maya, you’re gonna fall, you have to move,” she moaned, “Maya take my hand otherwise you’ll die,”  
“But I wanna fly Julian. Fly like a bird!”  
“Maya wake up!”  
“Julian what the hell!?”  
“Good you’re up, put some shoes on. We’re going on an adventure,”  
She put up her protests but in the end was dragged out of the house, while the night aged on. The only reason she actually agreed to go out was because he mentioned the Garrison and some lions, she thought he was bluffing when he went on about colored lions and a castle from the sky all at the Garrison.   
“Holy fuck! You weren't joking!”  
“Keep it down, they have guards everywhere, and yeah I’m not. They just came falling from the sky this morning and haven’t moved since. They’re guarding something and I wanna know what.”  
“We are not going down there,”  
“Why not?”  
“Because they’d shoot us,”  
“And?”  
“And what? We’d die and mama couldn’t take losing another of us, let alone one,”  
“You say it like he’s dead,”  
“He’s been gone for six years, even if he was still around here he could come home. The fact that he hasn’t leaves two options: he’s either dead or doesn’t want to see us anymore. After six years and no one can find him the chances are slim if there’s a chance at all,”  
“He went missing with his friends though, isn’t it odd that an entire cadet crew went missing? Not scattered through the base, all from the same group. They were a team and the entire team went missing. Does that not scream ‘suspicion’?”  
“Not really,”   
“Whatever, I’ll get Shannon and Jarco to go with me, at least they care about Hunk,”  
“You can’t pull that card, that’s not fair,”  
“You don’t want to help me fine. There’s always someone else, Yaya.  
“That’s low Julian,” he shrugged “Only Lance ever called me that and now six years later you bring it up? Go find him yourself, but you’re chasing ghosts,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment any concerns, thoughts, or ideas.  
> I'm always up for encouragement to keep writing


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Great minds think alike when worlds collide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading at least this far through my story. For returning readers, school has swept me up and I hate it. I've also been getting sick often enough to warrant a few doctor's visits not to mention the car crash I was in that's leaving scars across my hands and it all still aches weeks after.   
> I encourage you to keep reading this story as I will try to post more often and as for now I hope you all enjoy.

“Dude are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, they have weapons and we’re in middle school. I think they win in terms of preparedness,”  
“Oh come on Jarco, we got this far didn’t we? All we have to do is get in a tent and tiptoe our way over to that castle ship thing,” Julian said creeping over a cliff edge.  
“Yeah and dude, how are we going to do that in broad daylight with so many patrols around and we are children!”  
“You sound like Maya,”  
“I’m right here Julian,” she scowled at her brother.  
“Yes and I’m glad I got you to come but it sucks that Shannon couldn’t join us,”  
“You’re just upset that she wouldn’t go out with you,”  
“That has nothing to do with it Yaya, and I don’t even have a crush on her,”  
“Of course he’s in denial,” they both rolled their eyes.   
“Okay could we move on please? We need to get down there undetected,”  
“Okay but I’m just gonna say this for the record: this is a bad idea, very bad idea that I don’t really want involvement in,”  
“Too late you’re here now,”  
“I realized that,”  
“Can we get this over with please?”  
“What Maya? Do you have a plan?”  
“Yeah, kinda,” They all stood on the cliff’s edge, watching cadets and captains hurry like ants as their queen Iverson did his own thing. He kept sending a cadet into the same tent with drinks every few minutes, ensuring something stays happy. Or Julian presumed. 

 

\-----

 

“What were you children doing down here? This is restricted area and with potential danger,” The three stood in a small tent not far from their starting point on the cliff with a cadet decked in bright orange and white. The trio all had a different expression draped across their faces: jarco was fearful of the situation, while Julian had an aggravated look and Maya was playing innocent.  
“With all due respect cadet, we’re just kids with curiosity and a longing for adventure. Plus it’s a spaceship, how could we not?” She answered.  
“Very easily you could not, actually,”  
“Knowing my brothers cadet, not that easily,”  
“Wow, thanks Maya. That’s so nice of you,” Julian’s voiced, laced with sarcasm.  
“Calm it pansy,”  
“Well, I hate to stop this bickering but cadet, are you going to report us?” Said Jarco quietly.  
“I can get where you kids are coming from, but you do realise how dangerous it is to be down here? You see the threat of robot lions firing lasers at us, and that this is unknown to any human?”  
“Yes cadet,” they chanted.  
“Then I can either keep you guys here for a while and call over the Commander, or walk you too the edge of the restriction zone and force you home,”  
“With all due respect cadet, we are going to that ship whether you let us or not,”  
“What are you-” before he could finish Maya kicked his groin and when he went to try and ease his suffering she karate chopped his neck and he passed out. The boys stood there letting the whole thing unfold before Jarco could posses what had transpired.   
“Oh my god, we’re gonna be in so much trouble!”  
“Dude, calm it. This isn’t our first rodeo,”  
“She’s Done this before!?”  
“Not exactly this, but almost,”  
“Quite the girl talk and help me!” Maya was trying to tie the cadet up with his belt.  
“What should we gag him with?”  
“Gag!?” Jarco muttered.  
“I was thinking maybe his shirt? Or just cut off a sleeve? Cut it with this,” Maya tossed a pocket knife to her brother who caught it easily while Jarco flinched. Julian started sawing off the cadet’s sleeve when he caught his name tag, Polshki shined on a gold name tag.   
“Okay, what do we do now?” they all said. 

 

\-----

 

“Yes sir,” there was a beat, “I’m trying but I can’t-” another, “I understand the situation perfectly sir,” and another, “I’ll try again, but I can’t make them- sir please. I’m the only field reporter you have at the moment and I’m stretched right now but I’m still trying,” the chatter on the other end was muffled for the cameraman to hear, “I’m sorry sir. Yes sir,” then she closed her phone.   
“I’m guessing Mr. studio didn’t like that we can’t get any closer or more contact?”  
“Right on the head,” Monica said slumping into her seat.  
“So what are we going to do?”  
She straightened up, “Why don’t you tell me more about that psychoanalysis thing you were on about? At least until I come up with something to keep me from getting fired,”  
“Right! I can’t believe someone besides my mom wants to hear it,”  
“Before I change my mind,”  
“Okay, well to understand Mr. Zodiac I’ll have to take you back to the beginning of American serial killers,” he said with visible excitement, “The first American serial killer was a guy called H. H. Holmes, way back in the eighteen-hundreds. This guy was, something else. He’s never had a copycat and his killings were his only killings. But this dude decided at the world's fair to open up a seemingly normal hotel. But her spent months building this place, firing one contractor after another until he had four different building designs in one. He had them build chutes to acid pits, rooms you couldn’t get out of, rooms you couldn’t get into, secret halls and trap doors and he was the only one who knew the way around. He deemed it his murder castle. Anyone who stayed there would go missing and no doubtfully die. It wasn’t long before he was caught but to understand the mentality of H. H. I’ll need to-”  
“That’s it. That’s how we get closer!” She jumped in her seat,  
“We do what he did,”  
“Killing is morally wrong and I refuse to take part in it,”  
“Not killing, we make a secret entrance tunnel thing and we can sneak around everything. We’d be able to get so close to everything and-”   
“Do you know how long that would take?”  
“Then we disguise ourselves! Memorize the patrols and get to that castle,”  
“How would we get uniforms to disguise ourselves? Hmm?”  
“I know a guy,”

 

\-----

 

“I would just like to say I do not think this is a good idea and if we get caught we will not be able to do any more coverage,”  
“You think I don’t know that? Because I do,”  
“Do you know where else to get uniforms from a guy you know besides from knocking him and a buddy out and leaving them tied and gagged in a dumpster?”  
“Honestly? No, I was lucky their clothes fit us. This was a shot in the dark and I hit my mark,”  
They started to walk around a bit diving into the guarded grounds as if they were supposed to be there. Patrols came around every seven minutes and they all checked in their location then. They somehow fit in even with sweat and nerves smothering them, everyone played it off as the desert heat.   
Walking around and dodging patrol after patrol they heard voices from a tent, bickering and fighting. Almost in a panic it sounded and rather high pitched. Not what they were expecting from aliens.  
“Do we just leave him here? Do we tie him up? Training didn’t prepare me for this!” Monica peered into the tent, with the cameraman behind her. There were three kids standing around a body.  
“We weren’t trained to begin with, we came on our own with no other mission than to figure out what this place is and who's here. No one was supposed to get hurt!”   
“Stop yelling! Somebody could hear us and I don’t need to be caught!” ‘  
“What are you kids doing?” they screamed at the sudden voice.  
“Shit! We’re sorry! We just wanted to look around! Please don’t turn us into space goo!”  
“Julian!”  
“I’m sorry Maya, I panicked,”  
“Please don’t report us mis, my friend is just an idiot,”  
“Jarco!”  
“Aren’t you an excited bunch. You can relax we won’t turn you over for attacking a cadet since we did the same,”  
“You attacked one of your own!? It’s a rogue cadet! We can’t trust them!”  
“We’re not cadets,”  
“Don’t listen to them Maya, they’ll trap us and Mom will lose us too!”  
“Julian,”  
“Jarco, I’m sorry I dragged you here. I know your mom will be the same and Sherry will act like she does with Hunk! I’m sorry Jarco,”  
“Julian,”  
“Please cadets take me only, let my sister and friend go. Spare them and our families more pain,”  
“JULIAN! Stop crying,”  
“But- but, they’ll turn us into space goo,”  
“Julian, these aren’t cadets. These are field reporters,”  
“Wh-what?”  
“We talked to them the other day Mami had you translate everything. Channel seventeen news, Monica Bishop and her camera guy?”  
“Why would you let me ramble about food goo?! Why didn’t you try to stop me?!”  
“I did, you kept yelling,”  
“So you guys aren’t with the garrison?”  
“We only want a story kid. The garrison wouldn’t let us near this place so we had to improvise,”  
“How’d you get uniforms?” Jarco asked.  
“She knew a guy,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you decided to bookmark and/or comment and let me know what you think! You will get a reply and my thanks as well as giving me motivation to post again. feel free to leave any ideas for future chapters and have a great day, night, or afternoon wherever you are. Let me know of any errors and if anyone would volunteer for a beta reader that would be a blessing.  
> thanks much  
> -Is anyone there?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for putting up with weird and unknown update days and times. I hope you stick with this story and let me know if I should continue with it, if you like it, and all that. Bookmark and leave a kudos or comment. Thanks again and enjoy.

Julian, Maya, and Jarco sat around the unconscious Polshki. Monica and her tech support stood waiting for an idea to sneak all five of them to the castle a few tents away. The heat was getting to them all as their impatience grew with their sweat beads.the only plan they had came from Jarco to book it over there before anyone could stop them; no one really felt it was the best option.   
“Okay we were all clever enough to get this far, we can make it to the castle ship thing in a flash, we just need to think more,” Monica pressed her hands to her temple.  
“We’ve been thinking for an hour and a half and collectively we have thought of nothing. We should start thinking of a way to get out of here,” the camera man said.  
“Maybe you should just hold the camera and let the rest of us figure it out, that’s your job right?”  
“I have a name, you know,” he mumbled.  
“What?”  
“I have a name and you should try to use it,”  
“Maybe invest in a name tag, dude,” Julian spoke up from the dirt and sand.  
“What’s your name then?”  
“Cameron,”  
“Cameron?” they said notes after each other.  
“Kinda sounds like camera,”  
“Yeah well, it’s Cameron. Get it right!”  
“Is that why you became a cameraman? Because of your name?” Maya asked from the corner.   
“N-no that’d be stupid,”  
“Whatever you say, Camera,”  
“It’s Cameron!”  
“Same difference,”  
They sat there for a while, letting more thoughts take over their minds, hopeful for a path to the castle.   
“We could just wait for night,” Jarco piped.   
“What?”  
“Yeah, it would be a lot more cool and they won’t be able to see us as well. We might need some more uniforms but they really won’t ask us who we are or what we’re doing here. The tents only have lanterns and no outside lights so shadows would be limited as well. The only issue is the guards by the castle itself. I mean the lions and the people over there studying them.”  
“We can solve that when we get there,”  
“Jarco you big, gassy genius! I knew you’d come through!”  
“Honestly, it’s just the safest bet we have, considering none of us are authorized to be here,”  
“No one else has a bad feeling about any of this?” Maya whispered to herself but the others heard.  
“What do you mean? You have a bad feeling?” Monica inquired.   
“I’m not sure if it’s bad but it’s like a gut feeling and a voice in my head. A voice that doesn’t really talk but speaks? Does that make sense?”  
“Not really,”  
“It’s like it’s telling me to do stuff or to not, I guess, but more feeding ideas to me? It’s not even talking more like a soft hum in the back of my mind,”  
“A soft hum telling you what to do?”  
“Yes! No? Kinda? I’m not crazy!”  
“Yaya, you’re probably just tired. Or hungry. Try just laying down until and close your eyes,” she did as her brother advised but started to tear up as she did thinking to herself and hoping the others believed her I’m not crazy. I’m not crazy. 

 

\-----

 

“You know? It’s been awhile since we’ve seen that Polshki guy, I thought he went to get more drinks?” Lance thought sprawled on the ground. “Where’d he go?”  
“That is a bit odd, he probably got caught by curfew or something,” Shiro pointed out.  
“Iverson wouldn’t have pardoned him?”  
“He probably would, but I guess not,”  
“But it’s not even dark yet, they probably haven't had dinner and curfew isn’t until after dinner,”  
“Then I don’t know, Lance,”  
“Aren’t we going to get fed anytime soon? My stomach is eating itself right now,”   
“Human’s stomachs eat themselves? That doesn’t seem helpful in any situation,”  
“It’s not really eating itself Allura, it’s more like it breaks down the lining and then rebuild itself. It does that about every five hours I think?”   
“Hunk why do you know that?”  
“My older sister took anatomy in high school, sue me for paying attention to her books,”  
“This isn’t solving that we need food and haven’t seen Polshki is a good few hours,”  
“Shiro is right we should see if we could make our way to the castle to eat and rest for the night,” Coran interjected, twisting his mustache.  
“Should we put our helmets back on? Or what?”  
“Putting them on is a great idea considering these people think that we went missing and died,” Keith said, “We wouldn’t want to freak them out or anything,”  
“Okay then let’s get a move on,”   
They all put back on the little pieces they took off to survive in the extreme heat, creating back full suits of armor. They opted to leave a note the best they could which was pouring the last of any and all liquids the had and etching words into the sand. After leaving the small tent they had been contained to all day they were all energetic and loud. Not wanting to hide anywhere for any amount of time and wanting to stretch their limbs spread like contagion. The sun was getting lower and they forgot how far from the castle they were actually taken. With so much land between them something tugged at Lance’s mind, it had laid dormant for six years: a rivalry.  
“Hey Mullet,”  
“Yes Lance?”  
“Let’s race!”  
“What?”  
“Yeah, like we used to! Be competitive and race each other!”  
“Lance you admitted that we weren’t really rivals and that was just a way for you to make sense of your crush on me,”  
“Oh but we were still competitive, even if you didn’t realize I existed,”  
“I knew you as a cargo pilot,”  
“Still doesn’t make up for ‘I’m sorry do I know you?’”  
“I said I was-! You know what? Fine. You wanna race? Let’s race,”  
“Oh no, they’re doing it again,”  
“Hunk we hardly do anything to each other now! We’re much nicer since we got into space,”  
“Oh we’ve seen and heard how nice you can be to each other,”  
“It’s just a race!”  
“It’s not a big deal, and it’s just to the castle,”  
“Whatever, go nuts,”  
“Glad we have your permission, Pidge,” Lance said bitterly.  
“Okay, on the count of three we go and first to the castle wins,”  
“You’re on Mullet!”  
“One… two… three!” they dashed. They left all the others in their dust and were choking on one another's as they kept trading first place. Yes, they were being competitive but they also just wanted to really feel the Earth under their feet, the pounding vibrations they only felt when get hit be the enemy. They kept losing their breaths as well now that they were on real oxygen, not some artificial or substitute that helped them but never gave then what they needed most. And the air stung their eyes and forced them to water and streak down both of their faces as they sped past tents and equipment and all the while laughing through the makeshift camp and crash site. When they reached the castle they both collapsed still laughing and eyes watering before they got up and entering the castle for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for putting up with weird and unknown update days and times. I hope you stick with this story and let me know if I should continue with it, if you like it, and all that. Bookmark and leave a kudos or comment. Thanks again and let me know if you have suggestions or concerns about anything.  
> xoxo anyone

**Author's Note:**

> If you read this tell me if I should continue this please.


End file.
